Know your councillors
These are our current Parish Councillors.
Giles Martin (Chairman)
Giles was born in Cornwall in 1945, not too far from the seaside town of Looe, where his family had been farmers and country butchers for many generations. He was the third of four children, but the only one to continue in the family tradition of farming.
After school he went to agricultural college at Bicton in Devon and followed this with a course in farm management at the Northampton Agricultural College, where he met Liz, whom he later married.
After finishing at Northampton, Giles' first job was at the Rothamsted Experimental Station in Harpenden and from there he moved to the post of Assistant Farm Manager at Askham Bryan Agricultural College near York. It was there, in 1973 and 1974, that Giles and Liz's two children were born. In 1975, they moved to Reading where Giles was a Research Officer in the University Department of Agricultural and Food Economics. The work involved visiting farmers in central and southern England collecting financial data that were subsequently analysed to form a basis for MAFF policy.
Giles took early retirement in 2001 but now spends some of his time working as a consultant for Reading and Exeter Universities. He still very much enjoys his involvement with farmers and the farming industry and has managed once again to become a farmer himself, with a small 10 acre holding in the north of the parish, where he and Liz have lived for many years. When they moved to this parish in 1980, their children went to Kidmore End School and then on to Chiltern Edge.
Giles was co-opted to the Parish Council in 1991, and has been returned at each election since then. He was appointed Vice-chairman in 1994 and has served as Chairman of the Council since1996. Giles says that there have been highs and lows during his time on the Parish Council, but that he is still very much enjoying working with and for the community in which he has made his long term home.
If there are issues concerning the Parish that you would like to discuss with the Council Chairman, please telephone him on 972 2365.
Roderick Young (Vice-Chairman)
Roddy was born at Townlands Hospital, Henley in 1955. At the time his parents were landlord and landlady of the Reformation pub in Gallowstree Common, where Roddy spent many happy years, learning the arts of beer drinking and playing bar billiards.
He went to Kidmore End Primary School and from there won a scholarship to Reading Blue Coat School in Sonning. In due course he captained the school cricket team and was a prop-forward in the rugby team. His many sporting achievements included winning the victor ludorum trophy for athletics.
Roddy's fascination for the countryside led him into farming. He left Blue Coat School at 16 and worked firstly for Lebeus Hordern at Cane End and, after his death, for Edward and Michael Hordern. Roddy's intention had been to leave after two years and join the police force, but farming became his passion and he continued to work the land. After gaining a Diploma in Agriculture through the International Correspondence School, he became Farm Manager at Cane End. When, later, much of the Cane End land was purchased by Aubrey and Angela Adams of Vines Farm, Roddy was appointed Manager of the Vines Farm estate.
Roddy and his wife Julie live in Cane End. They have two sons, Robert and Matthew, and recently became grandparents to Robert and Helen's son Charlie.
Roddy has been on Kidmore End Parish Council since May 1991 and is the longest serving of the current councillors. He serves as Vice-chairman of the Council and Chairman of the Playing Fields Committee. Raising funds for the New Pavilion and overseeing its design take up much of his time. His hobbies include travelling, gardening and socialising, but the local community and the beautiful countryside in our Parish remain two of his greatest pleasures.
If you would like to talk to Roddy about Parish matters, especially playgrounds and sports facilities, he can be contacted on 972 2097 or at roderick46@fsmail.net.
Susan Biggs
Sue was born in Emsworth, Hampshire and spent her early years travelling with her parents around numerous RAF stations, moving eventually to Wallingford when she was seven years old. She trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital and the London Hospital to be a general and sick children's nurse, qualifying in 1972, and as a Health Visitor in 1980. She worked in London until moving to Kidmore End in 1990.
Sue and her husband Mark have three sons, the youngest of whom is currently at university. Sue undertook and completed a degree at the University of Reading in 2004 and is now working towards an MA. She works in the Learning and Development team for the NHS Berkshire West Primary Care Trust and as a volunteer at the Sue Ryder Care Home and at Homestart Reading.
Sue was co-opted to the Parish Council in 2008 and, before that, was (and still is) Chairperson of Kidmore End Environment Preservation (KEEP), a body concerned to help preserve the environment of Kidmore End and its neighbourhood, in part through sharing information via its web site, www.keepnews.org. The group consists of a number of people from all the hamlets and meets when an environmental issue arises. If you would like further information about KEEP, please go to the website or contact Sue at susanbiggs@keepnews.org.
As a Parish Councillor, Sue takes a keen interest in preserving the rural character of the area. Her other interests include walking, biking, reading, skiing and gardening. She is also a member of the South Chiltern Choral Society. For Parish matters, Sue can be contacted on 972 3456 or at susanbiggs@btconnect.com.
Rupert Gutteridge
Rupert Charles Gutteridge was born in Colchester in 1971. His father was in the RAF and so Rupert spent most of his childhood moving around from Germany to Oman and all over the UK. During that time he and his sister attended boarding school in Oxfordshire.
After service in the navy, Rupert worked for a hotel management company, taking small country house hotels out of receivership. He then ran a safari lodge on the banks of the Ocavango River in Namibia for 12 months.
On his return to England, Rupert worked for a software company, supplying technology solutions to the hotel industry. He was then moved to the USA, carrying out the same role, but working from a Chicago office.
Six years ago he returned to the UK to marry Caroline and they moved to Penn Street, just outside Beaconsfield, where they lived for 5 years and where their daughter Alexandra, now 3 years old, was born. Alexandra attends Bishopswood Nursery School.
Rupert and Caroline have now been living in Gallowstree Common for a year and they adore the area and its sense of community. Having been recently co-opted to the Parish Council, Rupert is only just finding his feet, but is already responsible for looking after the three wells in the Parish and helping the Parish Webmaster with ideas for new content that will be of interest and use to everyone.
The Parish website at www.kepc.info is now very attractive, but needs more input from parishioners. If you have suggestions for making this site more useful, please email them to rupertgutteridge@hotmail.com or phone Rupert on 972 4562.
When he has any spare time in a very busy life, Rupert likes to relax by sailing in the Solent or playing golf.
Sarah Hall
Sarah Hall was born in Northamptonshire in 1943, but has lived at Chalkhouse Green with her husband and four sons since 1969. There she runs a small farm specializing in rare breeds, selling free range beef and pork from the farm. A passionate gardener, tree planter and conservationist, she encourages visitors to the farm both on private visits and on Open Days.
Sarah is in favour of less government at all levels and a pruning of the tottering piles of paperwork and over-regulation imposed by distant legislators.
With Reading pressing on the Parish boundaries, she is vigilant in helping to preserve the rural character of the five hamlets, strongly opposing a potential third bridge across the Thames, disgorging traffic onto local roads. Yet she wishes to encourage affordable housing for local people within the village envelopes on suitable agreed sites. She also supports sustainable commercial outlets to benefit the local community and provide employment.
Sarah is guardian of the green recycling boxes. If you need another box (or two?) please telephone her on 972 3631.
Brian Knapp
To be added
John McNie
John McNie came to Kidmore End in 1988 after living in Stoke Row for 14 years. He worked as a GP at an Emmer Green practice until his retirement in 2002 and still does some locum work there.
John was Editor of this Newsletter for 10 years, handing over the reins in 2006. He did this job without initially being a member of the Parish Council, but was co-opted to fill a vacant seat in 2001 and was re-elected to the Council in May this year.
He is a member of the Rights of Way Committee, which is responsible for footpaths in the Parish, and of the Plans Sub-Committee. He is also asked for his opinion whenever health matters come up at Council meetings. John takes a keen interest in planning matters, especially those relating to Kidmore End. If you would like to talk to him about local planning issues, his telephone number is 972 2672.
John and his wife are keen gardeners and enjoy walking in the local countryside. John's latest contribution to potential walkers can be seen in the form of a map of local footpaths, now on display outside the New Inn.
Richard McQuillan
Richard was born in Surrey in 1950 and chose dentistry as a career. He qualified at Guys Hospital in 1973 and married Sue in the same year. He first practised as a dentist in Camberley but, since 1979, has run his own Dental Practice in Sonning Common.
Sue and Richard first moved from Surrey to Woodcote, but then bought a house in Chalkhouse Green, where they have lived happily for the past 21 years. Their four children, now grown up, went to Kidmore End Primary School and on to Chiltern Edge.
Richard has been a member of the Parish Council for 10 years and currently serves on the Plans Sub-committee, the Rights of Way Committee and the Playing Fields Committee. He is keen on measures which help to reduce carbon emissions and especially, in the local context, anything that can reduce car journeys. He is a strong believer in preserving the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and other significant green belts, but also recognises the need for more homes in the area, especially well-managed, low cost housing.
If you would like to talk to Richard McQuillan about the Gallowstree Common playing fields, rights of way in the Parish or planning issues relating to Chalkhouse Green, please contact him on 972 3291.
Jane O'Sullivan
Jane was born in Kidmore End and grew up in Gallowstree Common, where her family have been farmers and builders for many generations. She trained as a state registered nurse at St Thomas's Hospital, London in 1976 and went on to qualify as a midwife in 1982.
Peter and Jane were married in 1983 and moved back to Gallowstree Common, where they have lived very happily for the past 24 years. They have three children, now all in their final year at university. Jane has worked at Dunedin Hospital in Reading since 1984, first as a staff nurse and, for the past 10 years, as a senior non-clinical manager.
Jane is a keen walker and has been involved in many charity fundraising events over the years, the most recent being a Moonwalk in May – 26 miles around London at night in aid of breast cancer. She is also a dedicated gardener and a bit of a workaholic! She is very passionate about village life and the preservation of our rural areas and has chaired the Village Association, worked with fellow parishioners to organise village fetes and helped to raise funds and build the children's play area in Gallowstree Common.
Jane's grandfather, Ernest Callis, was Chairman of the Parish Council in the 1940s and 50s and her father, Kenneth Callis, was Clerk to the Parish Council in the 1950s and 60s. Following in their footsteps, she had earlier served for 9 years on the Parish Council and was a school governor and a member of the playing fields committee. She was therefore very proud to be co-opted back onto the Parish Council in June 2007.
Jane is a member of the Traffic Calming Subcommittee and also a member of the fundraising committee for the new pavilion. If you would like to talk to Jane about traffic, fund raising, or any other parish matters, please contact her on 972 4279.
Sue Rowland
Sue was born in Warrington and brought up in Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire. She studied law in London and was called to the Bar in 1975. Her first legal job was with the Radiochemical Centre in Amersham which was then part of the Atomic Energy Authority. She has spent over twenty years in senior legal and management jobs in the pharmaceutical industry and continues to work as a consultant for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, specialising in international commercial law.
Sue and her husband John married in 1971 and have lived in Tokers Green for nearly twenty-five years. She is a keen horse rider, walker and gardener. Sue has always loved the countryside and amongst other things she is committed to the preservation of rural areas and the protection of the beautiful landscape in which we are privileged to live.
Sue was elected to the Parish Council in 1999. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Parish Newsletter, the Planning Subcommittee, the Fund Raising Group for the New Pavilion and is the Allotments Manager.
If you want to talk to Sue about the Newsletter, planning, fund raising, the allotments or any other parish matters please contact her on 972 3107.
John Swift
John was born and went to school in Birkenhead. His family had been stevedores in the ports of Liverpool and Birkenhead since the middle of the 19th century and his vacations were spent on the docks, learning the ropes in the expectation that he would join the family firm. However, he went to Oxford University in 1959 to read Classics and Law, the family firm was taken over, and John decided to read for the Bar. After a year in Bologna, in which he gained a Diploma at the Johns Hopkins School of International Studies, and a further year as a lecturer at his former college, University College, he began full time practice at the Bar in 1967, was appointed QC in 1981, and has been in the same set of Chambers throughout his professional life. He specialises in competition law.
From 1993-1998 John was the first Rail Regulator, head of a new non-ministerial government department, established as part of the process of securing that the new structure of the railways worked in the public interest. Since 2002 he has been Chairman of the panel of judges for the annual National Rail Awards scheme.
John and Jane Swift moved from London to Chalkhouse Green in 2006. They have two married children and two grandchildren, who live in London but are regular visitors to Orchard Hill and its growing garden, where more than 200 new trees and shrubs have been planted during the past 18 months. John has an interest in all aspects of public transport, rail, bus and air, and is keen to ensure that local services are enhanced, wherever possible, and that safety and environmental issues are properly aired and resolved, in the interests of all parishioners.
John was co-opted as a member of the Council in May 2008 and can be contacted on 924 2695.
N Topham
To be added